Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is welcome. I congratulate him on his first budget. I will not get as historical as Senator Casey, who almost brought a tear to my eye. I am not sure if it was the launch of a European campaign. We will wait and see. It was meat to the grassroots anyway. The Minister listened to enough Fine Gael budgets in his time as spokesperson for his party, so I acknowledge that it was a proud day for him and his family.

I have been saying in recent years on all Stages of debate on finance Bills that things are done because they are necessary and also because we are in a position to do them. I talk about the supports that are provided to assist families, individuals and businesses with the cost of living. We are able to do those things because the economy is strong enough to allow us to do them and now it is because they are necessary and the right thing to do. I have been saying in recent years that, as the economy has improved after a number of difficult years, we can provide the supports that people deserve and require.

I welcome the cutting of income tax and USC to reward people, allow them to keep more of their hard-earned wages and put money back in their pockets. That will help with the cost of living, given the high energy costs, higher payments for carers for older persons and the most vulnerable and also the investment there has been in additional services such as more gardaí, which are evidently needed, investment in community safety partnerships, ensuring the best start for every child by cutting childcare costs, as well as providing more free schoolbooks and widening access to services, in addition to helping businesses with measures to deal with the higher energy costs.Those are absolutely vital and necessary.

The changes to the universal social charge, USC, in section 2 raises the threshold for the 2% USC rate. This ensures that people on the minimum wage do not lose the value of the increases through tax, as the threshold rises by €2,840 to €25,760. The measure also benefits everyone at work with a higher income than this. This section also reduces the 4.5% rate to 4% and we also see the cumulative effects since 2014 in USC over successive Governments, including with my own party, so that the amount paid in USC by a worker on a gross salary of €40,000 has halved.

Sections 3 and 4 provide tax exemptions for student nurses for clinical placements. These are exempt from tax, USC and PRSI. In addition there is maternity leave for councillors, provision for which was also passed in these Houses a number of years ago.

Section 6 extends the help-to-buy scheme which was introduced in 2017 by my party in government. Despite opposition from some it was extended and enhanced by the current Government in late summer of 2020. To date some 43,170 - and growing - claims have been made and the majority of those have been approved. This section of the finance Bill extends the help-to-buy scheme to 31 December 2025.

Section 9 puts more money back in people's pockets by increasing the standard cut-off point by €2,000 up to €42,000 for a single person with proportionate increases for married and one-income families. It is important because if this was not done yearly people on the lowest income would eventually start paying tax at higher rates. It is important that as wages grow the higher rate of tax continues to grow. For comparison, in 2015 the standard rate was €32,800. The three income tax credits of personal, PAYE and earned income increased by €100 to €1,875 each. That is important as well. The home carer tax credit is increased to €1,800.

Section 11 increases the renters' tax credit, which I certainly welcome. Section 13 introduces mortgage interest relief. This is only available on one's principal private residence where the outstanding mortgage balance is between €80,000 and €500,000. The relief is available on the standard rate of tax and is calculated on the increase in the interest paid between 2022 and 2023. The maximum relief payable is €1,250. It is set against that person's 2022-2023 tax bill.

I met a constituent recently whose mortgage loan was sold to what are called the "vulture funds" about which there has been so much talk. He is paying 9.25%. Will the Minister say if there is anything that can be done or is there anything in the pipeline that can be considered to put some sort of smacht on these? The individual I met was quite vociferous about the impact this is having on him. He is paying it but he is renting rooms out and doing all he can to raise money to pay this. My colleague, Deputy Brendan Griffin has also raised this on the floor of the Dáil in relation to an individual in his 80s who is being chased by a vulture fund for a loan that he thought was cleared back in the Celtic Tiger days. The property was sold and raised some €2 million of the €2.5 million and he is being chased for the half million euro and seeing punitive interest rates now on that. This man is aged 80 and is in bad health. This whole area is fraught and probably needs to be further regulated. What plans might the Minister have for that?

Section 21 designs a support for small landlords to maintain or increase the supply of homes. I take on board the commentary from Senator McDowell as well. I equally would have concerns about the pipeline of supply. I must put on the record of the House that my wife rents out her family home. I put this on the record in case it comes back; it is declared and so on. I have a concern about where this is going to end up in the context of the flight of landlords that we have seen due to those concerns.We need all types of houses. We cannot have tenants without landlords or landlords with tenants. It is two-way traffic. We support tenants via the tax credit. It is important that we support the accidental or small landlords in particular, who provide much needed accommodation.

I welcome the Minister's commentary on the changes he has made in relation to the treatment of GMS patients. We have received communication about this from practices that were concerned it would force them to retire their GMS list. I welcome that the Minister has taken these changes on board.

Section 91 deals with residential zoned land. I acknowledge there has been a recent change made in relation to farmland. For actively farmed lands, the tax will not fall due until 1 January 2025. There is still some concern and confusion as to how it will apply. Where land has been actively farmed, it was understood by farmers that they would not fall due for this tax. Is that still how Revenue will be assessing this? I know the appeals process exists and has been extended until January 2024. I am referring to actively farmed land, not land that has been hoarded or land that has clearly not been farmed. That is quite evident when one looks around, one can see land that has been abandoned but one can also see land that has been farmed by individuals who may be close to a town. Will that land will be taxed or not under the scheme? I welcome the decision to give that bit of space. A lot of people would have fallen due to pay that tax who might not have been aware of it.

I also welcome a number of other sections of the Bill. These include: the extensions for various types of research and development, R and D, and the film and TV production sector; the reduced VAT rate on audio books and e-books; the reduced VAT on solar panels for schools and the revised capital acquisitions tax arrangements on inheritance and gifts received by a person who cared for a person under a formal or informal fostering agreement. There are many very worthy tax changes in this finance Bill. Of course, there are also the one-off payments announced on budget day, which will be coming through before Christmas and in the new year and the tax changes that come through in the new year.

I commend the Minister on his first budget and wish him well as he prepares for his second one later next year.